The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-04-17
A TERRIBLE TALE.
Infatuated Citizens About to Hang an
Innocent Man for Double Murder.

Innocent Man for q Double Murder
From The Ctncinnd'i Enquirer.
James Leonard, young man who had
lived most of his life in I.awrenceburg, Ind,
thought it would be a good thing to get ac-
quainted some with the outside world, and
about a year aero he left town for the pur-
pose of visiting other localities. He return
ell few days since, determined to never
again depart from the haunts of home, per
fectly cured of his rowing desires, for he had
undergone an experience in his BRIEF absence
So thrilling in its nature that the remember
ance appalls him with the horrors of hide
Gus dream. His story is briefly this;
While journeying ON foot to lonely
railroad station at Opalen, Ill, for the pur-
pose of taking the cars to st. Louis, he on
tered the premises of a farm house to get a
drink of water. When approaching the Wen
he passed a Wood-shed and was horritied TO
see the corpse of woman, while all around
the ground was Colored with her LIES blood
He stopped only long enough TO sec the CORY
ax with which
THE BRUTAL MURDER
had been committed, then rush III alright
from the fearful scene As fast as his limbs
would bear him the terrified fellow fled, try
ing to lengthen as rapidly as possible the
distance between himself and the horrible
sight lie had witnessed. At last, wearled
with fight, he sat down to rest, and while
trying to Danish from his mind the shock
ing impressions made by the discovery of the
murdered woman, lie WAS oveItaken by a
crowd of hOrscmen, who roughly asSalled
him and charged the crime of murder upon
him. In vain did he deny the commission
of tho deed The men tied his hands behind
him, placed him upon a horse, and with
rope around his neck started on the return
with their prisoner to the faIyn-house where
the dead woman lay. Before reaching the
premises couple of boys joined the swell
ing crowd of excited men and positively
identified the prisoner as the man they had
seen running from the house, just before they
discovered the dead body. This evidence
caused an examination of mis- clothing, and,
sure enough, on the bottom of his pants and
the sides OF his shoes were stains OF blood,
showing that he had indeed been at the scene
of murder This newly discovered evidence
incensed the crowd to madness, and, while
the terrified prisoner would give no explana-
ton. but only in hslf-crazed tones continued
to repeat that he was innocent.
HIS THOROUGHLY ENRAGED GATORS
determined that he should at once pay the
peualty of the crime with his life. With
kicks and blows he was dragged to the little
farmhouse where the crime had been com
mitted the crowd avowing that he was to be
hung in the very shed where the body of the
murdered woman had been found. Before
reaching the intended place of lynching, a
messenger informed the arTesting party that
in bedroom of the farmhouse another
woman had been found, with her throat
cut from ear to ear, unconscious, but not
dead
This further intelligence exasperated the
furious crowd the more against the helpless
prisoner, and it was resolved to torture him
to death. The poor fellow, paralyzed with
fear, listened in speechleSs agony to the devil
ish modes suggested for taking his life Drag
ging him, more dead than alive, to the fated
woodshed, the rope that had been around
his neck for some time was put around o
rafter of the roof, and then, with oaths and
blows, the trembling and bleeding form of the
poor fellow was drawn up and then lowered
again. Several times had this been repeated,
and just as the mob was preparing to hoist
him the third time and just when con-
seriousness was about TO forsake him, a loud
voice was heard from the house exclaim.
ing,
IN ALARMING TONES,
''Hold on men! Stop, for heavens sake
Don't hang him! He is innocentln The
lynchers paused. while in breathless haste
the man who had interrupted them told that
the woman with her throat cut had revived
and had confessed that she had murdered
the woman found in the wOodshed, and
then had cut her throat herself III an at
tempt to tak3 her own life Leonard was
at once released, but, unable to stand, he
swoOned away as soon as the rope was re-
moved from his neck, and then those who
had been foremost in the attempt to take his
life were now the most anxious to effect his
restoration For days he fingered between
life and death, kindly nursed and cared for
by his late enemies until able to start TO- his
Indiana home. The woman with her throat
cut, crazed by the murder and attending ex-
citing Incidents, refused to submit TO medi-
cal treatment, tore the bandages from her
throat, pulled apart her gaping wound, and
died the same night. Before dying she
briefly told the history of the tragedy that
came so near resulting in the death of an
innocent man ut the hands of an enraged
mob.
THE MURDERED WOMAN
was her step-mother and disagreements be-
tween the pair were an almost daily occur
renee and frequent fights had been INDUCED
in between the quarreling women, That
morning ar old fuss had been revived and
the step-mother had driven her from the
house with club, and sought shelter in the
wood shed where, pursued by the other she
had caught up the ak, chopped her enemy
down, and, frsnZied with passion, had hack
ed the head almost from her body. Return
ing to the house she espied young Leonard
approaching, and believing he had witnessed
her murderous deed and would arrest her,
she seized knife and sought to end her
wretched existence The discovery of the
step-mother's body soon after the flight OF
Leonard turned suspicion TO him, and caused
pursuit and his arrest, with its subsequent ter
rifying ordeal, and would have ended IN his
death, but for the timely revival OF the muir
deress, whose confession was just III time to
rescue him alive and remove the stain OF a
double murder from his name.
An the Ia+est STILES of 10. &, w. Collars and